March 25 - Woe Cubed

March 25 - Woe Cubed - Isaiah 29:1-31:9

Ariel (Isaiah 29:1-2) literally means 'hearth of God.' So, this refers to Jerusalem. In 701 bc, Sennacherib led the Assyrians and they surrounded Jerusalem. There should have been no possible way that they wouldn't take the city, but they didn't! (Isaiah 29:1-10) In verse 5, we find that all of a sudden they are blown away like chaff or fine dust.

What we read in Isaiah 29:11-12 is that the seers couldn't understand the prophecies that Isaiah was delivering. They were blind to the truth that he was bringing to them from God.

You might recognize Isaiah 29:13-14. These words were spoken by Jesus in Matthew 15:1-9 when he rebuked the Pharisees for spending more time on the rules than they did in worshipping the Lord. In Isaiah 29:15-24, we find that the people of Jerusalem actually thought they could hide the plans from the Lord. And then, they planned to tell Him what they were going to do and what He would do for them. While we may think that all of those ideas are insane, I do believe that deep down, our plans don't go far astray from theirs.

Isaiah sees far into the future, to the day when understanding will come over the people of the Lord and He will redeem His people.

After all the Lord had done for His people, they still insisted upon rebelling against Him. I think that many times we look back at the children of Jacob and scoff at their stupidity and wonder how they could not see the hand of the Lord leading them all of that time. Before we get too self-righteous, I think it would be appropriate to look back along the timeline of our own lives and hesitate over those moments of rebellion and self-indulgence when we forget to invite God to participate in our lives or strip things away from Him thinking that we can do it better.

They thought they could appeal to Egypt for help - rather than the Lord (Isaiah 30:1-7). God told Isaiah to write words out on a placard - "These are a rebellious people!" Isaiah carried this with him as he walked around the streets of Jerusalem. But the people only wanted to hear pleasant words, illusions. Sound familiar? (Isaiah 30:8-14)

What a patient God we have. Isaiah begged and pleaded with the people to trust in God, even as he told them what God would do. Read the words of Isaiah 30:15 "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength." But what is their response? They would have none of that. They insisted on doing it themselves. Sound familiar? (Isaiah 30:15-17)

Yet, the Lord longs ... He LONGS to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" (Isaiah 30:18)

The promises of God are so amazing, we are deaf and blind ... God longs to bring us into restoration. (Isaiah 30:18-26)

The final passage of this chapter (Isaiah 30:27-33) tells of the punishment that Assyria will receive from the Lord. Topheth (Isaiah 30:33) is a location outside Jerusalem where the worshipers of Molech sacrificed their children (2 Kings 16:3; 21:6; Jer. 7:31–32; 19:6, 11–14). It was later turned into a garbage dump and named 'Gehanna,' which is a New Testament word for hell.

Isaiah 31:1-9 is a recap of what Isaiah has been saying to the people of Jerusalem. He kept saying these things over and over to a rebellious people. It would do them no good to trust in an alliance with Egypt and would only incense their Lord. And why should they worry over Assyria? The Lord is a great lion and they are no more than sheep with shepherds. He is not afraid of them and will care for His people.

We would do well to heed the words of Isaiah. The words that he spoke to the people of Judah as a unit, are spoken to us as individuals. We are a rebellious people, preferring to take matters into our own hands and if we don't see the Lord acting within our timeline, we will move forward with or without Him!